


Snarls of the Dead

by Okami01



Series: Sylvain Week 2020 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Not Canon Compliant, Not Happy, Pre-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23040352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okami01/pseuds/Okami01
Summary: Au where Miklan lives. Sylvain and Miklan talk and it goes as well as expected. Prompts for Sylvain week - Brother.
Series: Sylvain Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651549
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15
Collections: Sylvain Week 2020!





	Snarls of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Tw for Sylvain sadness and referenced abuse.

Sylvain had to walk down three flights of stairs. The dungeon was deep in the ground. The tunnels were narrow but at least reinforced with concrete. Still, he felt like he was going to be buried alive. 

There were no lights, save for the torch he held in front of himself. The flame flickered. Not from the wind, because there was none. Sylvain's hand shook. He took a breath of musty air to calm his nerves.

He'd asked to do this. Even though everyone said it was a terrible idea. It was a terrible idea. 

And here he was anyway.

Finally, he got to the door. Black reinforced steel. After fumbling around with the keys for what felt like an eternity, Sylvain pushed through stepped inside.   
The door closed behind him with a deafening clang. 

He relit his torch. Something growled at him. Someone. Miklan. 

Even though he'd prepared himself for this, he'd seen it coming. They'd captured Milkan in the black tower. Stabbed him and, after he fell he turned back into a human. Or something more like a human. Black horns sprouted from the side of his face. His skin was like tar in places. Patches of human skin remained. His scar. Red eyes and pointed ears. Sharp fangs and overgrown shaggy hair. 

He had always been a monster. Sylvain had been convinced that he was one from a young age. Now he really looked the part. 

He'd never heard Miklan scream so much. Strangled and feral. 

Sylvain felt like throwing up, screaming, passing out and the cold numb feeling that nothing mattered anymore. 

Had there ever been a chance at saving his brother? Sylvain didn't know. But when he thought that they killed him and he turned out to be alive, just weaker and passed out. Sylvain didn't feel happiness. Or relief. Sadness or even rage. 

It was strange. He didn't feel much of anything at all. 

Even stranger when Byleth said to still try to take him alive. Why? Sylvain hadn't argued. He'd barely spoken a word. As if he was frozen or not really seeing the events taking place before him.

Surely he'd have nightmares about it all later. He already had nightmares about other things. Haunted for the rest of his life.

Rhea hadn't wanted to. When they got back to the monastery. She looked at Byleth and sort of smiled. Sylvain hadn't asked for mercy for his brother. Nor would drop to this knees, beg and cry. 

He wished Glenn could be alive instead somehow. Or Lord Lonato. Someone that people cared about. Felix and Ashe deserved their loved ones. Why, of all the people to live, did it have to be Miklan?

Hus professors and the archbishops' mercy shouldn't have been wasted on terrible people like the Gautier's. 

Was that why Sylvain was here? Because if his brother was alive, he wanted his life to mean something? Not to just be here taking up space.   
Or was he here to kill Miklan. It wasn't as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind countless times.

" What are you doing here, runt? Miklan growled. His voice was deeper now. Animalistic. It snapped Sylvain back into reality. Not the most fun place to be.

What was he doing here?

" You don't look well, " he replied instead. Gazing at the space above Miklan's head. 

" So you came here to gloat then?"

Sylvain still hasn't really said anything. He sets his torch down in front of himself and sits a ways away from his brother. It's so damned uncomfortable down here. The people of the church seem to hope that Miklan will, in Rhea's words, "see the light in the darkness. He may repent and one day, use his demonic power to help those in the light." 

It sounded like a bunch of nonsense. 

Sylvain always thought that Rhea had a few loose screws, as pretty as she is. Though he couldn't really judge. When she'd spoken, he'd wanted to laugh 

Miklan grinds his teeth. It's an awful sound. It makes his skin shiver more than it already is. The smell of blood and tar coats his mouth and he wants to gag.

" You still have that stupid look on your face… I would tear your throat out if I weren't in these chains."

Supposedly, those chains were made of an ore called beaststone. An ore that allows a beast to retain human form. 

" I know that." Sylvain smiles bitterly. " At least you haven't changed on the inside. Rotten to the core."

" As if you aren't the very same. If it weren't for your crest, you would have done the same thing."

Sylvain doesn't know why out of all the things his brother has said to him, this is what makes him angry.  
" Trust me Miklan, if I could rip my crest out of my body and shove it down your throat, I would. I don't want it. I've never wanted it. I didn't want you to beat me up all the time. I didn't want our dad to pretend he didn't notice. And I didn't want Dimitri and the others to notice. Because they all cried. And so did I before… before… I realized that crying only made things worse."

Sylvain's voice nearly cracks. He takes as deep a breath as he can in this underground prison. 

He clutches at the ground. Dry, rocky dirt. " You know, when I….when I slashed you across the face. It really was an accident. You didn't believe me. And you nearly killed me because of it."

Sylvain stands. He clutches the gravel in his hand until it nearly bleeds. " You asked me why I came here? I thought about killing you. Goddess knows I've killed people before… people that I hated less than you." 

Miklan growls again. The chains around him rattle. 

They stare at each other. All anger, bloodlust and cold indifference. 

" I don't care about your anecdotes, runt. Do you expect me to apologize? To cry out and beg for my life." Miklan smiles. " Like you used to?"

" You really… haven't changed." Sylvain smiles back. But whether you care or not doesn't matter to me anymore. Because, as far as I care. You're already dead. So bye."

Sylvain turns on his heel, fighting the urge to cry or scream. Stamps down on the torch with the heel of his boot.

Usually, these days, pain like this washes over him. He's numb to it. Though the feeling of wishing for death always remains. Right now it feels like someone's stabbing him in the stomach. 

" You're a coward," Miklan yells. 

Sylvain laughs. " Maybe… but at least I have a life."

He starts to walk. His brother snarls out insults and curses that he can hear the entire time he's walking back up the stairs. 

A weight off his shoulders, at least he thought it would be. It should have been. Misery can only breed more misery. He doesn't know what he'd been expecting. 

___

It only gets worse. Months later, an unknown group attacks Garreg Mach. Miklan is gone. Escaped. Or hopefully, killed for real, Sylvain thinks. As it turns out, when the unknown force attacks again, there's someone new with them. 

A man who can turn into a crest beast. A man with a scar across his face. A man with white hair and a crest. And Sylvain really wants to laugh again. He should have killed Miklan when he had the chance.

____

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading (: Things keep getting worse for Sylvain but I'm out there banging on Intsys headquarters for beast units. 0:


End file.
